Rebellions and uprisings

FILE - In this July 21, 2010, photograph, employees leave the front gate of the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Miss. Another Mississippi inmate died at the hands of a fellow inmate, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, this time, at the penitentiary, bringing the death toll to four amid disturbances over the past week in the state prison system. The violence comes even as a federal judge, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, rejected claims that conditions in one Mississippi prison are unconstitutionally harsh. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The leader of Mississippi’s underfunded prison system was pleading with lawmakers for money to hire more guards and pay them better in 2012 when he warned, “I see trouble down the road.” Christopher Epps, a longtime Mississippi Department of Corrections employee, would later...

FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, file photo, this photo provided by the U.S. Army, paratroopers assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division walk as they prepare equipment and load aircraft bound for the U.S. Central Command area of operations from Fort Bragg, N.C. A push led by pro-Iran factions to oust U.S. troops from Iraq is gaining momentum, bolstered by a Parliament vote in favor of a bill calling on the the government to remove them. But the path forward is unclear. (Spc. Hubert Delany III/U.S. Army via AP, File)

BAGHDAD (AP) — A push led by pro-Iran factions to oust U.S. troops from Iraq following the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general is gaining momentum, bolstered by a Parliament vote calling on the government to remove them. But the path forward is unclear, and in Iraq's deeply divided...

FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2019, file photo, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington. Cummings died from complications of longtime health challenges, his office said in a statement on Oct. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

A lauded writer who brought to light stories overshadowed by prejudice. An actress and singer who helped embody the manufactured innocence of the 1950s. A self-made billionaire who rose from a childhood of Depression-era poverty and twice ran for president. This year saw the deaths of people who...

A Russia-backed separatist soldier escorts a group of separatists war prisoners after they were exchanged near the checkpoint Horlivka, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019. Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels in the east have begun exchanging prisoners in a move aimed at ending their five-year-long war. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

MAIORSK CHECKPOINT, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine on Sunday exchanged 200 prisoners in a move aimed at ending their five-year war. The swap at a checkpoint near the rebel-held city of Horlivka was part of an agreement brokered this month at a summit of...

A protester hits a poster with a defaced picture of Asaad al-Eidani, Iran-backed parliamentary bloc's nominee for the post of the prime minister and Arabic that reads "rejected by the people," with a shoe during anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019. Iraq's president refused Thursday to designate Asaad al-Eidani for the post of prime minister after he was rejected by anti-government protesters and said he was ready to submit his resignation to Parliament. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's president refused on Thursday to designate a prime minister candidate nominated by the Iran-backed parliamentary bloc and offered to resign, plunging the country into further political uncertainty amid nearly three months of unprecedented mass protests. President Barham Salih...

A man rides in a truck as civilians flee a Syrian military offensive in Idlib province on the main road near Hazano, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019. Syrian forces launched a wide ground offensive last week into the northwestern province of Idlib, which is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants. The United Nations estimates that some 60,000 people have fled from the area, heading south, after the bombings intensified earlier this month. (AP Photo/Ghaith al-Sayed)

BEIRUT (AP) — More than 200,000 men, women and children fled their homes in northwest Syria in buses, trucks and cars in recent weeks, amid intense air and ground bombardment by government forces, a Syrian relief group said Wednesday. Government forces have been bombarding southern and eastern...

In this Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, photo, volunteer Ibtisam Nablussi tosses a Christmas present, as anti-government protesters distribute clothing to the needy ahead of Christmas, at Martyrs Square in Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon is entering its third month of protests, the economic pinch is hurting everyone, and the government is paralyzed. So people are resorting to what they've done in previous crises: They rely on each other, not the state. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

BEIRUT (AP) — Panic set in on a WhatsApp group used to organize Lebanese protests when one member said he intended to kill himself because he can’t provide for his kids. The desperate call came on the heels of the suicide of a father of two that had stunned the public and raised alarm over how dire...

BEIRUT (AP) — A missile struck a school building in northwestern Syria on Tuesday morning, killing eight civilians, opposition activists said, as government forces captured a key village held by al-Qaida insurgents in the last rebel stronghold in the war-torn country. Syrian government troops also...

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces pressed ahead Monday with a new military assault on the country's last rebel stronghold that began last week, an offensive that has set off a mass exodus of civilians fleeing to safer areas near the Turkish border. Under the cover of airstrikes and heavy...

In this Dec. 17, 2019 photo, Venezuelan Opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela Juan Guaido speaks during an extraordinary session at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela. Cracks have appeared in Guaido's base of support in the National Assembly, the only major institution controlled by the opposition. His reelection as congressional president is no longer assured and legislators' official terms expire in a few months. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Tour operator Alejandro Palacios joined hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans protesting in the streets early this year, wanting to believe that things would finally change in the country as upstart opposition leader Juan Guaidó rallied international support and promised a...